JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Joint Base Charleston played host to senior officials from the Medical University of South Carolina, including MUSC president Dr. David Cole, during a briefing and tour of aeromedical capabilities May 22, 2018 at Joint Base Charleston, S.C.
The purpose of the visit was to share information about the medical missions, as well as the overall mission, of the various units at JB Charleston. It echoed a visit base officials made to MUSC earlier this year to familiarize themselves with the institution’s facilities.
After a briefing by base officials, the visitors from MUSC were escorted to the flightline, where they were further briefed onboard a C-17 during a static display. They learned about aeromedical evacuations and the Transportation Isolation System, an airtight pod intended to isolate patients exposed to pathogens, initially developed in response to the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014. Members from the 315th Airlift Wing, the 628th Aeromedical Medicine Squadron and 628th Bioenvironmental Engineering flights touted the capabilities of JB Charleston and showed the visitors specialized equipment used for medical evacuations.
During the briefing, Col. Jeff Nelson, 628th Air Base Wing commander, expressed gratitude for the relationship between the base and MUSC. He and Cole, along with leadership from both the base and the hospital, discussed the possibilities of furthering their partnership with mutual training opportunities.
“We’ve got such a medically rich community and great medical partners,” added Col. Craig Lambert, 628th Medical Group commander. “This type of communication is what makes these relationships work so well.”
Joint Base Charleston and MUSC are the two largest employers in the Charleston region, with 22,000 employees at Joint Base Charleston and 13,000 at MUSC.